Luck of a Virus
by filledelmer
Summary: While traveling, InuYasha's group comes across a village perfect for spending the night—complete with beautiful women, wealthy homes, and rat youkai. However, the next morning, someone has a cold, and things have gone from bad to worse... right? oneshot


**Disclaimer: **I do not own InuYasha, only this crazy idea of mine.

**Special Thanks to: **Anyone who reviews, and to The Painted Lady for suggesting that this could be a oneshot.

**Summary: **While traveling, InuYasha's group comes across a village perfect for spending the night—complete with beautiful women, wealthy homes, and rat youkai. However, the next morning, someone has a cold, and things have gone from bad to worse... haven't they?

**Luck of a Virus**

Fuming, Sango stared almost visible holes into the back of the monk's head. She then turned in an attempt to ignore him, but she could still hear the jingling of the metal rings on his staff and the coquettish laughter of the young women as they walked down the village street.

Sango's shoulders rose as she sighed loudly in frustration.

'_He just can't help himself, can he? One would think that after two years, I would have gotten used to his actions. Instead, it seems to bother me more every time.'_

Sango began to walk quietly down the town's busy road, her long legs covering ground quickly. The decision to stop in this town for the night had already been made, and she unconsciously began the task of scouting for information on Naraku… and for the wealthiest home in the area. After all, Miroku would end up there eventually.

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"But my good sir, please, if not for yourself, think of your lovely wife and children. Surely, you realize that the cause of this threatening aura could wreak havoc on your innocent family."

Mentally, Kagome rolled her eyes as she listened to Miroku's attempt at securing overnight lodging and food for the tiny group. Fortunately, this wealthy man had shown no signs of hostility towards InuYasha or her kit. Perhaps, she would sleep on a bed after all.

The gentleman appeared to be unconvinced and rubbed his bearded chin in a gesture of thoughtfulness. Finally, he nodded slowly, "What will you require for your services?"

The monk's eyes shone as he felt the beginnings of success. "We only need a place to stay so that we might be able to do our work. Have no fear, no one will rest until this evil has been dispelled," he promised gallantly.

The gentleman before them raised a skeptical brow, "That is all?"

Miroku looked out of the corner of his eyes and turned a meaningful gaze to the women and children—their signal to look as hungry and as pitiful as possible.

"Perhaps, kind sir, if you could spare the expense of a small pot of inexpensive rice for the women and the child, I would be most grateful," Miroku said as he bargained on the rich man's pride.

Promptly forgetting that he had yet to agree to the deal, the owner of the large home pompously assured the small band of travelers, "Cheap rice?! I can certainly afford decent food for the guests of my home."

Smiling inwardly, Miroku bowed deeply as he spoke, "You are a generous man. If you could just show us where we are to stay, we will immediately begin our work."

"Certainly not," the man replied. "You will eat with my family and me first. My daughters do not get the chance to meet many visitors, and I know they would welcome the chance to converse with guests."

'_Daughters?'_ Sango thought. _'I should have known. It is no wonder that Miroku was so adamant about staying here.' _

Without neglecting their pitiful appearances, the small group followed the home's owner up to his door and on into his house.

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'What does he think he is doing?' Sango thought as she gritted her teeth.

She watched as Miroku smiled and charmed the wife and three beautiful daughters of the home. It angered her that even though she had seen the same performance literally hundreds of times, she was still angered by Miroku's "innocent" appreciation of female beauty.

Abruptly, the object of her thoughts flew to his feet and stood protectively in front of the wealthy family. Then staring into the far corner, he shouted, "Show yourself, youkai, and leave these good people alone."

Inwardly, everyone groaned. Ever dramatic, Miroku could let no situation slip by without using it to his advantage.

Taking a firm step forward, Miroku approached the wall directly in front him. A rich red and gold tapestry hung on the wall. Using his staff, Miroku pulled the cloth away from the wall, and quickly scanned the now revealed area. He soon saw the small hole cleverly hidden by the bottom fringe of the tapestry. Calling for Sango, he instructed her to toss a smoke-causing device into the hole then step away from the entrance. Within seconds, a dark figure rushed out into the dining area, causing the women of the house to scream in fear.

Without moving from his protective stance, Miroku called, "Kirara."

The cat appeared to nod quite happily and sprung forward in an effort to capture the frightening youkai—a large black rat. Without even changing forms, Kirara contentedly went about solving the rodent problem. Eagerly, she pounced upon the helpless rat, which soon began to emit tiny squeaks of protest.

Seeing the normal occupants of the home cowering in the far corner of the room, Miroku hurriedly pointed to the door, "Take this outside, Kirara. InuYasha and Kagome will follow you to provide back up, should the need arise."

Shippo looked at Miroku with a look that questioned the monk's sanity. 'He has got to be kidding. That youkai was so weak; I never even noticed it was there.'

Seeing Shippo's questioning gaze, Miroku gave a stern look to the kit, warning him to keep his thoughts to himself. Then Miroku turned back to the family, gave them a reassuring nod, and went back to enjoying the expensive meal that had been prepared for them.

Outside, Kagome listened to InuYasha grumble, "What does that monk think he's doing—ordering me to come out here to watch a cat play with her food?"

Kagome covered her mouth with her hand and giggled at how truly exasperated InuYasha was. Then she turned to watch Kirara "fight" the rat youkai.

Pure joy, shone from the feline's eyes as she pounced and poked at the rat before her. Abruptly, she hissed and sprung away from the rodent before moving in to battle once more.

"What happened to her?" Kagome asked worriedly.

InuYasha rolled his eyes and said dryly, "It bit her."

Without warning, the rat appeared to have had enough and suddenly transformed to a size rivaling Kirara's current state. Kagome and InuYasha's eyes widened in surprise. Kirara quickly transformed to meet the rat's challenge, and immediately, the games began again. The earth shook with every pounce of Kirara's large form. The rat was no match for the maddened cat, and soon found its neck caught between Kirara's powerful jaws. The rat promptly fainted. Seeing that the rat was no longer conscious, Kirara kept it in her mouth and brought it to the door of the wealthy home. Placing it down on the threshold, the cat waited for Sango's approval.

InuYasha grimaced as he heard the loud screech from inside the house and the seceding thuds as the family's four females landed unconscious on the wooden floor. Quickly, Sango rose to her feet, stood in front of the door, and in a whisper asked Kirara to take the rat away from the house. Kirara seemed to understand and took the rodent once more into her mouth.

Sango whispered a quiet "Thank you," as the cat walked away with her prize.

Night came and everyone (with the exception of InuYasha) slept and woke the next morning well rested. Everything was going well until five minutes down the road when Miroku started coughing and sneezing.

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Sango jumped as she heard Miroku sneeze yet again.

"That stupid monk just had to flirt with all those village women, and now he has a cold," Sango muttered venomously. "I wonder who gave it to him—was it the blue clad teenager, the young woman in the red and white kimono, or perhaps the young woman who poured the sake."

Shippo winced as he listened to the sharp tone and saw the deadly look in Sango's eyes.

"She sure is mad, isn't she?" Shippo asked of Kagome as he rode cowering on the miko's shoulder.

Kagome nodded in affirmation. "She certainly seems to be, Shippo."

They traveled that way for a few minutes before Shippo spoke up, "Kagome, do you really think Miroku got sick from one of the girls at that village?"

Kagome thought for a long moment then shook her head, "I doubt it, Shippo. While he did flirt with the women, I don't remember him getting close enough to even touch one of them."

Shippo nodded thoughtfully, "He was remarkably well behaved."

Suddenly, loud wheezing was heard from the back of the group, and Kagome turned to look at the source of the noise. Miroku was clutching his chest as a nerve-wracking cough rattled his frame, and he attempted to breathe.

Kagome turned back around and jogged up to where InuYasha was walking, "InuYasha he is sounding worse; we probably should stop for today at least."

In truth, the thought had already crossed InuYasha's mind, but he stubbornly grumbled, "No."

Placing her hands on her hips, Kagome glared at him, "And why not?"

"How will we ever catch up to Naraku if—" InuYasha's words were swiftly cut off as Kagome's smiled brightly and gave the hanyou a one-armed hug.

"Thank you, InuYasha," she said as she turned around and bounded off to tell Miroku that they would be stopping.

A slow blush crept up InuYasha's face as he watched Kagome run off, but he pushed his embarrassment aside long enough to manage a small cry of protest. His effort was in vain.

Completely ignoring InuYasha, Kagome ran back to Miroku, who was standing in the middle of the road attempting to control his coughing.

When the coughing subsided, Kagome told Miroku, "We're going to stop now."

"Thank you, Kagome," Miroku whispered gratefully before turning to follow a grumbling InuYasha to the site he had apparently chosen to camp.

"He can almost die from poison, but we have to stop for a cold," the hanyou mumbled as he trudged to a cleared out area beside the path they were following.

At Kagome's warning look, InuYasha quieted.

Kagome sighed as she watched InuYasha out of the corner of her eye. She knew that their stopping was making him uneasy, but they needed to wait for Miroku to regain some of his health. Hopefully, he only had a type of 24- hour virus or something similar.

The day seemed to have no end. To pass the time, Kagome pulled out her math book and began to work on the problems she would need to have ready for school when she went back. Shippo, being a kitsune, had plenty of tops and other toys to keep himself occupied. Sango chose to work on polishing her boomerang, and Kirara caught up on some needed sleep. InuYasha, however, could find nothing worthwhile to do, and instead spent the day pacing and fighting with Shippo.

Finally, night fell.

For some unknown reason, Sango woke in the middle of the night. At first, she thought the noise from Miroku's constant coughing had woken her, but as she listened to the monk's steady breathing, she realized that what had startled her from her sleep was actually the silence.

'_I probably should check on the Miroku,'_ she thought as she slipped out of her makeshift bed.

On silent feet, she padded over to Miroku's sleeping form. By the fires light, he looked to be sleeping peacefully, but his face was unnaturally flushed. Kneeling down beside him, she brought the back of her hand up to rest on his forehead. She gasped as she felt the heat radiating from his skin. Thinking to test his temperature once more, she closed her eyes lightly and leaned down to brush her lips on his forehead.

Abruptly, the skin beneath her lips began to move. Her eyes flew open and she saw that she had missed her target; instead of kissing his forehead, her lips had landed on his. She made a move to pull away, but a masculine hand reached up to cradle the back of her head and pulled her closer.

The moment her lips met his heated ones, time seemed to come to a screeching halt. For a moment, she forgot her anger; she forgot who and what she was. Subconsciously, she began to respond to him.

This feeling—it was one she had experienced before, years ago when her father was still alive. Though she could not think clearly enough to remember, she had felt this way every time she entered the simple dwelling where she stayed with her father and her brother. It was the feeling of coming home.

Rational thought had flown from her mind, and the feeling of his lips caressing hers made her feel that she was cherished, that she was loved, and she began to respond with a growing hunger.

Moments later, Miroku reluctantly dragged his lips away from her long enough to draw in a raspy breath, and without thought, he whispered what had been going through his mind.

"I love you, Sango."

The whispered words shook her very foundation and slammed her back into reality. Hastily, she pushed away from the monk and in her haste, she fell back and sat down hard—too shocked to move.

'What have I done?' Sango asked herself. Confusion and a tinge of fear shown from her eyes, and her heart pounded loudly against her chest.

_'Where did that come from?'_ Her reaction, his sudden declaration of love—both were unexpected.

Sango shook her head in a fruitless effort to clear her mind. He was obviously delusional from his fever. In an effort to stand, she rocked forward onto her knees, the sudden movement bringing his vivid, questioning orbs into view.

Struggling, Miroku attempted to sit up, and subconsciously, she placed her hand behind his shoulder and helped him. She soon questioned the wisdom of her decision as she came face to face with the monk. The fire behind him cast an almost surreal feeling to the occasion, and it served to highlight the burning question in his eyes. She turned her head away in a direct refusal to answer him.

Miroku debated within himself on what his next move should be.

Reaching up, he took a light hold of her chin and forced her to face him. Stubbornly, she refused to meet his gaze.

"Sango," she heard him whisper, "look at me."

Finally, she hearkened to his pleading voice. Then she brokenly whispered, "What do you want from me, Miroku? Haven't you done enough?"

Miroku leaned back, clearly startled.

"You kiss me and tell me that you love me, but just yesterday you were flirting with any female you saw. Do you enjoy making me look like a fool?" Sango asked heatedly.

In her mind, she realized that she was probably being harsh, but she could not stop the frustrated words that escaped her mouth.

"Sango," Miroku said with conviction. "You could never look foolish to me."

He sighed, slightly defeated and muttered, "I never even touched one of them."

Sango's eyes reflected her surprise.

"Besides," he continued, "I like to watch you when you're angry."

Sango frowned and reached up and slapped him. Miroku's face took on a look of mock innocence before it sobered up.

"You don't trust me, do you, Sango?" Miroku asked quietly.

The words startled Sango, 'Do I not trust him?'

Unwillingly, her mind went to the time at the mountain when he had carried and protected her almost at the cost of his life; he would have died for her, and she knew it.

Slowly, she shook her head. "That's not true."

She trusted him with her life, but her heart was another matter completely.

He seemed to know what she was thinking, "Sango, if you trust me to protect you, why is it so hard to trust me with your heart?" His voice pleaded for her to understand, "No matter what it may seem like, I will love no other."

Somehow, she knew he spoke the truth. She breathed out defeated. In truth, the person she did not trust was most likely herself.

Suddenly, Miroku's body began to shake violently as his fever continued to build. Inwardly, she yelled at herself, and she rose from her spot, took the blanket from her pallet and arranged it on his shoulders. Then she went looking for cool water and a cloth. When she came back to his side, she saw that he was still sitting up watching her. Immediately, she took the blanket off his back and pushed on his shoulder, forcing him to lie down. Then she put the damp cloth on his head, and laid the blanket on him.

She was startled from her ministrations as he began to speak once more.

"Perhaps, you doubt yourself, Sango."

The youkai slayer paused before arranging the cloth on his head again.

"Why would I doubt myself?" she said shakily.

Miroku queried, "Why indeed?"

Two simple words—it was amazing that they held so much weight. It was a reasonable question, and she did not have an answer.

"Ignore your head for a moment, Sango, and tell me what your heart is saying about me," Miroku said quietly.

Sango flushed in embarrassment. Her traitorous heart had loved him for well over a year.

The corners of the monk's lips turned up, the slayer's silence was enough of an answer. Taking pity on her, he decided to drop the subject. She knew his feelings about her, and he knew she would think over everything that had been said.

Rolling to his side, he patted the space beside him. Then with innocent eyes, he looked up and asked, "Why don't you lay down by me, Sango? After all, the night air is cold, and I have your blanket."

Sango's fist clenched in anger, but shocking them both, she walked to his left side and slid between the top two blankets of his pallet. She took special care to make sure that there would be plenty of material between his hand and her body.

Turning away from him, she threatened, "Touch me, and you die, monk."

Miroku gulped, but could not help the lecherous smile that formed on his lips as he promised to control his cursed hand. Fortunately, for the monk, she was facing away from him.

'I'll move by morning; it's just too cold to sleep without a blanket tonight. Besides," she reasoned, "he's too sick to try anything." Then closing her eyes, Sango tried to sleep, but sleep was a long time in coming; there was too much to think about.

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Kagome woke to the beginnings of daylight and the sound of loud coughing. Immediately, her gaze flew around the fire to the space Miroku had occupied the night before. She gasped in surprise as she saw the couple sitting beside each other and Sango's vivid handprints on the monk's face.

Hearing the gasp, Miroku looked at Kagome for a short moment. Kagome was surprised to see his smug smile.

Finally, she realized the cause of the grin and beamed excitedly.

Apparently, Sango had a cold.

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**Author's note: **Thank you so much for reading my second oneshot attempt. I usually do not try to write even this light fluff; so, I would appreciate it if you would review and let me know how I did.

To those of you who read my story, "Are You My Father?", this piece will look somewhat familiar to you. This is a "remodeled" version of most of the 12th chapter.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this. :-D

If you have a spare moment, please feel free to read my other fics: "When It Rains It Pours"; "To Understand A Miko"; "Beware of Pixie Dust"; "Are You My Father?" (my most popular story); or "Once Upon A Robbery" (my newest fic and a Sesh/Kag pairing).


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